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RNA and sex determination in Caenorhabditis elegans
Author(s) -
Puoti Alessandro,
Pugnale Paolo,
Belfiore Marco,
Schläppi AnneCatherine,
Saudan Zarifja
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.1093/embo-reports/kve209
Subject(s) - caenorhabditis elegans , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , hermaphrodite , oocyte , meiosis , sperm , genetics , mitosis , germline , caenorhabditis , drosophila melanogaster , gene , embryo , ecology
The Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite sequentially produces sperm and oocytes from a single pool of precursors. Therefore, the hermaphrodite's germ line is the site of two major cell fate decisions: a germ cell precursor first undergoes a mitosis/meiosis decision and then a sperm/oocyte decision. While the mitosis/meiosis decision is governed by Notch/GLP‐1 signalling, the sperm/oocyte decision relies on post‐transcriptional regulation of two key mRNAs, tra‐2 and fem‐3 . This review focuses on factors that are required for the silencing of these mRNAs, which results in the sequential production of sperm and oocytes. Most factors that regulate the expression of tra‐2 and fem‐3 are homologous to proteins involved in RNA regulation in yeast, mammals or Drosophila , suggesting that at least some of the molecular mechanisms regulating the two worm mRNAs have been conserved throughout evolution.